MIDDLETOWN — A local developer plans to start construction in the summer of 2016 on a new 43-unit condominium project on River Road beside the Connecticut River.

The planning and zoning commission approved plans June 10 from Old Turkey Hill LLC, allowing the redevelopment of the former Jackson Corrugated property at the corner of River Road and Eastern Drive.

Developer Martin Smith said the project includes seven three-story buildings with six units each and a parking structure for each building. A three-bedroom, single-family home on Eastern Drive will also be part of the project.

"The main attraction is the Connecticut River and our goal was to provide every unit with a river view," Smith said.

Each unit will have two bedrooms, a large living room and a deck that faces the river.

Smith said his project very closely relies on the eventual decommissioning and demolition of the city's sewage treatment plant on River Road. He is trying to time the project so that the new units will be available for purchase around the time the plant is being shut down and prepared for demolition.

Removal of the sewer plant is seen by city officials as the most important milestone in redeveloping the riverfront. Construction began last year on a pipeline and pump station that will allow Middletown to connect to the Mattabassett District plant in Cromwell.

Planning Director Michiel Wackers said the site Old Turkey Hill is planning to develop has been eyed for residential use for years in riverfront redevelopment studies.

The city is expecting the connection to be made within the next two to three years. Work on the pipeline component is expected to be done next year, and once the sewage treatment plant is demolished one of the best parcels of riverfront land will be available.

The common council has approved the planning department seeking bids for a master plan of the riverfront, which would outline the preferred use of each parcel along the river.

Smith, the owner of Waterhouse Development, made a proposal in 2012 at the site that would have required a tax abatement approval from the common council. City leaders were in favor of the plan, but council members said they thought his proposal for a 175-unit apartment project was made too soon in the riverfront redevelopment process.

Smith withdrew that plan, and said in May that the new plan favors a smaller scale with owner-occupied units rather than rentals.